The Perks Of Being A Thief
by Slytherin Buttercat
Summary: From the first time Mundungus ever stole something, to the last time, this three-shot has a lot covering his untold story.
1. A Thief's First Steps

Flying Assignment #7: Write about a Thievery.

Halloween Bingo: (object) cobwebs

Word Count: 536

* * *

 **A Thief's First Steps**

* * *

Mundungus first stole something when he was a mere five-year-old boy, with gappy teeth and scraped knees. His older sister had a sparkly quill that he wanted so bad that he could feel it in his gut. He wasn't allowed his own as they were too girly — at least, they were, according to his mother. He thought a sparkly quill would be perfect for a boy like him.

The day was quite sunny, at least it was for a winter day. His sister was at a friends house, probably pretending to be eleven-year-old witches attending their first days at Hogwarts. If he was completely honest, Mundungus did not see the appeal of Hogwarts. It was just another school where he would learn stuff. It wasn't anything special.

The thrill of trying not to be caught as he crept into his sister's room, however, was _thrilling._ It made his heart pump and his mind race. He could be caught at any moment!

His eyes quickly scanned the room, noticing that the room hadn't been dusted in ages, as cobwebs littered the corners of the room. It was a trivial thing to notice, but his eyes were super aware, trying to spot anything that could resemble a quill. Nothing. It wasn't on the desk, or dipped in the ink pot. For a fleeting moment, he thought that she had taken the quill with her, until he noticed there were helpful little notes on the drawers stating what they contained. ' _She always was organised,'_ he remembered with a smile, as he looked for the sign that had a word beginning with 'Q' on it.

He almost gave up, until his young mind finally stumbled upon the right door. Triumphantly, he ripped open the door, revealing perfect rows of quills and ink pots. He smiled to himself as he plucked out the perfect quill, stuffing it in his inner pocket, hugging his robe close to himself. He was successful. It actually worked!

* * *

A scream could be heard from his sister's room. "Mum! Someone's been through my stuff! One of my quills has gone!"

"Mundungus!"

He blinked nervously, walking out into the hall. "Yeah?" He asked, his voice timid.

"Did you go into your sister's room?"

Mundungus shifted his eyes away from his mother. "No?" he said, but his voice sounded questioning.

"Are you sure? You don't sound too sure. And you wouldn't want to be lying to Mummy now, would you?"

"I'm sorry, Mummy," Mundungus said, cracking under his mother's glare. "I didn't mean to steal the quill, I just wanted one of my own, and you wouldn't let me!"

"I knew it would be you," his sister declared. "You always want to annoy me. You think you're so much better than me! You're five years younger than me."

Mundungus growled.

"Go to your room, Emily," his mum said.

"Fine."

She huffed off.

"For lying to me, Mundungus, you are grounded for a week. And for stealing, you are grounded for two weeks. No more going out to play with your friends."

"But—"

"Don't even think about complaining, young man, or I'll double it!"

Although it was the first time he had stolen something, it definitely wasn't the last.

* * *

Meh.


	2. A Thief's Best Steps

Flying: Write about a thievery

Halloween bingo: (object) chainsaw

Giant Harry Potter Collectables Challenge: A Pack Of Name Tags: (scenario) Someone pretends that their name is something else

Word Count: 544

* * *

 **A Thief's Best Steps**

* * *

The best thievery that Mundungus pulled off was with someone else, a man named Joe (at least, that's what he said his name was). He thought it would go wrong multiple times but they were lucky. It was at a house — no, _mansion —_ that belonged to an aristocrat who would not miss whatever was taken. It was the first time Joe and Mundungus had ever worked together, and so far the latter wasn't liking the former's lack of skill (and he was pretty sure that Joe was getting annoyed as he was always correcting him).

"You ready, Sam?" Joe asked as they got outside the house, their Disillusionment Charms carefully placed.

Mundungus found that he liked being called Sam, as it had less syllables, and was more common. Also, if they heard Joe called his name, they would be searching for a Sam that fit his features, not a Mundungus.

"Ready," he said.

With the art of some imbecile who had never actually stolen something before, Joe pulled out a chainsaw. "What are you doing?" Mundungus asked, a disbelieving tone in his voice. "If you turn that on, it will wake everyone up."

"I was going to put a Silencing Charm on it," Joe said, but Mundungus could tell that he was lying.

"If you use a chainsaw, it will definitely let him know that we have broken in when he wakes up tomorrow. And we would still need to work on the wards."

"On the wards?"

"Yes! Don't you know anything?" he hissed, irritability rising in his body.

"Why don't you do it then, if you're so mighty?"

Mundungus focused all of his energy on ripping at the wards. He tore every one that he felt down, ripping them away with his magic. He triple-checked they all were gone, before opening the door.

Mundungus grinned smugly, as he stepped in. Joe followed him, grumbling slightly.

They spread apart, each searching for something valuable. Mundungus crept into a nearby room. In the middle of the room, there was a desk with a few drawers on it, and Mundungus was brought back to when he was five and inexperienced. Smiling softly to himself, he made his way over to the desk, feeling if any wards were around the drawers. He felt nothing, so with ease he opened the drawer and quickly looked around. He found a money bag (which he thought was ridiculous, as who would leave their money lying around like that?) and some unicorn hair. Next to the desk was a gold cauldron, which he bagged as well, due to the fact that it had diamonds around the brim to enhance the making of a potion, and Mundungus knew that would be worth a lot.

For the next hour, he found trinkets that would be worth a lot of money and picked them up, shovelling them into a bag. He didn't know what Joe was doing but he found himself not caring, as he was finding too many valuable things. At four in the morning he stopped, and carefully made his way out of the house again, shrinking the bottomless bag and putting it in his pocket. "Alright, Joe?" he asked, nodding at the man who waited outside.

"Yea, you?"

"Perfect."

* * *

Ew I don't know what this is.

~Buttercat


	3. A Thief's Last Steps

**Flying: Write about a thievery**

 **Halloween Bingo: (word) midnight**

 **Moonstone: Incorporate a full moon into your story**

 **Word Count: 547**

* * *

 **A Thief's Last Steps**

* * *

The last time Mundungus ever stole something was when he decided he would make a change (as both Harry Potter and that toad-in-pink terrified him). They both had threatened him in very different ways.

The Black household was just crawling with money, and the Potter boy was just going to let it waste! He had to do something about it, so he looked for objects that weren't all that cursed. Whilst doing it, Mundungus found a locket which looked exactly like the Slytherin Locket, so he pocketed that, hoping to make a fair bit of cash. Even on its own, without having belonged to a Founder, it would be worth a lot, as pretty as it was.

Then, he left the house, going out into the fresh air, the midnight sky looming over his head. A full moon shone brightly in the corner, and Mundungus hoped he wouldn't encounter a werewolf. They scared him, even though that Lupin fellow seemed nice enough. You couldn't trust what a beast could do to you.

When he was in Hogsmeade soon after the robbery, he bumped into Potter. A goblet or two flew out of his hands, and in his haste to get his money back he forgot that he had stolen from the boy's deceased godfather. Understandably, Potter was both upset and angry. When the boy flew at him, Mundungus Apparated away, a few more goblets flying out.

A few months later, Mundungus was trying to sell the pretty necklace (and a few of the goblets that no one seemed to want to buy), when a woman who looked like a toad bumped into him. "Apologise!" she screeched at him.

"Sorry," he said, definitely not feeling sorry.

She squinted at him, seeing the loot in his hands for the first time. "Want to buy one?" Mundungus asked.

"No. Do you have a permit to sell here."

He looked away guiltily. "I thought not." Her eyes drifted to the locket in his hand. "What is that?"

"A necklace, ma'am."

"Give it to me!"

When he didn't, she added: "or I will send you to Azkaban and make your life hell."

Gulping, he handed the locket over, before spinning on his heel and Apparating away.

The worse part of this robbery, though, was when Potter's house elves captured him right before he was going to creep into a shop and gather some items. They did not treat him very well, and Mundungus nursed what would later be a bruise as he sat in front of a trio of kids, barely older than eighteen. One regarded him with a distasteful look on her face, one sat there with a glazed look on his face, and the final one stared at him with an intensity he did not expect.

"What do you want?" The frightened cry left his lips, but it was ignored.

He was asked about what happened on the night where he sold the locket, and he told them. None of them looked happy with this revelation. The toad probably didn't have many friends.

He Apparated away before one of them hurt him.

After that, he resolved to never steal again. If that was what happened when he got caught, well, he did not want to be a part of it.

* * *

Meh. This is definitely providing the rushed vibe. I'm tired.

~Buttercat


End file.
